Replacing a section of floor and spicing up interior fitting!

Out, vile ROT!

So when Rachel found the rot - and holes in the cupboard floor - I did wonder if there was any chance we could ignore it.  Just cover it with vinyl and pretend it didn't happen.  But the more we looked, the clearer it was that this could not be ignored. The floor under the entrance threshold was also going.

We took out the kitchen and bottom half of the wardrobe so that a section of floor could be removed. The rot had tracked a wee way up the framing, so that needed to go too.

We removed most of the rot, but some of the wood still had integrity and was difficult to reach (like behind the wheel arch). So we treated this wood with 4 coats of a wood rot killer and preservative. 

New (section of) floor!

Replacing the floor took a fair of time. I needed to consider the foot-traffic on the threshold and a slumping caravan wall. Access wasn't easy so the assembly of the new sections needed to be well planned.   

I added underfloor supports using L-plates for the treated plywood to sit on. And because I now had access to a small section of the surface-rusted caravan chassis, I 'made the most of it': wire-brushed the steel, treated with rust killer and sprayed on a grey matt primer.  Looked great! 

The wood above the wheel arch was also blown, as was the wooden framing beneath the floor.  All replaced using treated pine - with the aids of some new tools!

Meanwhile, full steam ahead on refreshing the interior fittings

Rachel had been doing a lot of the interior sanding and removing of cabinets and the kitchen. The cabinets have all been spruced up with several coats of Dulux Sandfly Bay creamy-white paint - it looks a dream.

She also got busy with recycling old curtains from the boys' bedrooms. We're not sure of the colour, but at least they're free so worth a go. But first she needed a sewing machine - got a second-hand beauty, a perfect fit for the 70's caravan.

We've bought a beautiful sheet of pressed pine from Mitre 10 to replace the kitchen bench. Eventually we will cut a hole and insert the kitchen sink (rescued from the old kitchen bench). But for now I need to keep going with improving the caravan structure and making it watertight. Plenty of jobs still on the list, and that list just keeps growing.   

How to waterproof a caravan's roof (and what NOT to do)

We have had Zeph at home for 4 weeks now, and in that time we have cleaned her, discovered holes in the floor and rotten wooden. 

Looking at other blogs, I'd say we have got off lightly - yes, we need to replace some of the floor and strip off the inner lining to tackle the rot in the corners, but at least its pretty much in good nick!

All cleaned up

When we cleaned her, I used a steelo pad on the roof - this worked really well as it sanded the roof at the same time. Did I say the exterior panels are aluminium? No risk of any rusting.

The original look

Here are a few photos of the wonderful 70's interior - many memories!. What will she look like when we're done?

The Caravan Man's Advice - that I totally forgot to follow

First job was to find out how to make sure she was water-tight and then paint her.  Youtube was not that helpful for this type of caravan, so I checked if there were any professionals I could ask.  Found an incredibly helpful local guy who restores caravans at Dunedin Motorhomes; he gave me great advice once he realised I was keen to tackle this myself rather than use his excellent services.

The first issue I asked about was how to reseal the seams in the aluminium roof, as someone had previously sealed this with an aluminium tape - it had worked well, but was starting to lift. So I peels this off, and sprayed the old adhesive with 'De-Solv-It' from Mitre 10 before wiping clean with turps.

I then used a 3M product (Extreme Sealing Tape 4412N) to reseal the seams - now this is where I made a mistake. I purchased this from the parts department of the local Toyota dealership. The caravan man had said to apply the seal after re-painting - I thought he said before the repaint. Bummer. 

He later pointed out (let's say I visited caravan man more than once) that it could be removed for the paintjob, but would help ensure the seam was watertight until the painting happened. So that was good news, but he did say it would be a painstaking process to remove. Double bummer. At this stage I'm inclined to leave it on, and paint over it.  Rach pointed out that if the paint comes off the seal (and apparently it will) then no one would see it, given its on the roof.  Hey ho.

How to remove decals

I used a caramel wheel (attached to the drill) to remove all the beautiful yet faded yellow and brown decal stripes and the lettering. I'd never heard of a caramel wheel before. Worked a treat. This was followed by Rach on the sander removing the original paint hidden by the decals.

Waterproofing the exterior

I had asked the caravan man the best way to reseal the aluminium trims. I worked on one side first, going through the following steps:

• remove the trims and nails, along with the old adhesive and any remaining silicon that I'd used year ago (in an earlier attempt to improve the water-tightness - I'd say I failed, since the caravan man had said to use urethane and not silicon when re-sealing).
• The 'De-Solv-It' worked a treated here again, to clean up the walls and the back of the trims.
• Use a white urethane and stainless screws to re-attach the trims. Now you need to do this in steps.  Firstly, use the same nail holes in the trims and walls to drill holes for the screws, and then test the screws through the trims and into the caravan wall to ensure they align and fit. If you don't, you might have a lot of non-fun trying to sort out the screws with the urethane causing a few issues for you.
• Apply a thin smear of urethane over the seams and holes of the caravan that will lie under the trim when in place. 
• Once dry, apply a good amount of urethane to the back of the trims - enough for some excess to squeeze out when screwed into place - and then do just that: screw into place. 
• You may need to apply more urethane along the seams once in place. 
• Use a small piece of wood to act as a scraper for removing excess urethane, followed by turps and a cloth for clean up. 

Apply one trim at a time.

The moment of terror: ROT

With one side of the caravan resealed, we were getting closer to the point that the caravan would be fully water-tight. We had been lucky with a good run of fine weather, and so all was looking up. The caravan man pointed out that if the paint is not flaky (that's us), rub the exterior down with Scotchbrite pads and turps.

I was about to tackle the exterior trims on the other side of the caravan, followed by the final surface prep for painting, - and then Rach found a rotten floor in the kitchen cupboard.  That was the start of a rabbit hole for us.  

The focus was now the interior, as there was no point re-attaching the exterior trims through aluminium panels and into rotten wood. And that's where we still are!





      

Background

Our youngest has just left home - and Rachel and I are now officially 'empty nesters'. We need a new project, and so Rach suggested we give our 1977 Zephyr caravan (Zeph) a new lease of life, fitting it out for just us rather than a family of four.

I thought writing a blog on our journey of restoration may help others thinking of doing something similar. You may learn what, and what not, to do.

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, send them through.

But first a little bit of our caravan history. We decided to buy a caravan for family holidays, as Rach  had good memories of family holidays in a tiny caravan on the Waiau river bed. This bet my memories of family camping in a 10 x 10 ft (leaky) scout tent - green roof, white walls. Rachel found Zeph for sale sitting in a paddock near Kirwee in 2004. And so our life with a caravan began. Our first trip away was to Spencer Park - the boys were only 3 and 5.

We had some great holidays over the years, in Golden Bay, the West Coast, Lake Wanaka and Central Otago. However, over the last 6 years, Zeph has been parked up at the Moeraki Boulders Holiday Park at Hampden beach (thanks Alex and Mel!). Our use of Zeph dwindled over recent years, and so she got neglected over time.

In early February we brought her home for renovation.  Over the next few weeks (or months) I will share our story.